10 Mar 2016

INCISIVE TYRONE DO IT AGAIN

Allianz
NFL Division 2 – Tyrone 2-15 Derry 0-12

INCISIVE TYRONE DO IT AGAIN

Against
Galway a three point defeat flattered Derry and last weekend Tyrone’s powerful,
incisive running game had Damian Barton’s team in all sorts of trouble.But for some wayward shooting the Red Hands
could have won this game by much more.

In the modern game this tactic is proving very
effective, providing you have the tools to do so.Tyrone certainly had athleticism in abundance
and will give teams plenty to think about.

At the other end Tyrone pressed right up on the
Derry kickout targets around the middle of the field, forcing Eoin McNicholl to
either go long or give the simple short to the full back line and Tyrone
applied the pressure instantly.

Richard Donnelly picked up where he left off in the
Owenbeg encounter with 0-4 from play and another man of the match performance
and Ronan O’Neill was also on song from placed balls.

Two early wins put Derry in position for promotion
but it was always going to be the Galway and Tyrone games that would define the
direction of this league.

Second half goals from Sean Cavanagh and Aidan
McCrory rubberstamped Mickey Harte’s side as promotion favourites and left
Derry with three games remaining to get their championship preparations back on
track.

TEAM
SELECTION – Mattie Donnelly was picked up by Chrissy McKaigue straight from the
throw in and his Slaughtneil clubmate Brendan Rogers was assigned to Sean
Cavanagh.Karl McKaigue shackled Conor
McAliskey and Oisin Duffy was on Ronan O’Neill.

At the other end Tyrone didn’t tinker with their
permutations at all, with their defenders picking up their direct opponents as
per programme.Very often Derry only had
Emmett McGuckin in the attacking third and was isolated.

As expected Colm Cavanagh dropped as a sweeper,
giving Tyrone that stability at the back, with Niall Holly carrying out the
same role for Derry.The difference was
the Moy man attacked on an intermittent basis, keeping Derry honest.

Here are the key moments from the game.

6mins – A quick kick out from
Niall Morgan found Peter Harte and he kicked off an attack resulting in a point
from Richard Donnelly.This move set the
tone for what followed over the course of the game. Tyrone 0-2 Derry 0-1.

12mins – James Kielt’s ‘45’
dropped short to Ryan Bell who is fouled close to goal and Bell tapped over as
Derry turned the game in their favour. Tyrone
0-2 Derry 0-4.

20mins – After a Ronan O’Neill
free Tyrone turned over the Derry kickout and Sean Cavanagh produced a massive
score, their second inside a minute as Tyrone regained the lead. Tyrone 0-5 Derry 0-4.

25mins – Ronan O’Neill from a
free put Tyrone three ahead and left Derry starting to chase the game.The Oakleafers didn’t commit any more men to
the attack so even at this early stage the writing was on the wall for them. Tyrone 0-7 Derry 0-4.

30mins – Barry Tierney had his
goal chance well saved by Eoin McNicholl and Derry broke forward for James Kielt
to kick a long-range point.This had the
potential to be a game changer but Derry didn’t kick on. Tyrone 0-7 Derry 0-6.

35mins – Kieran McGeary picked up
a pass from Mattie Donnelly and scored his second point to put Tyrone four
points clear at half time. Tyrone 0-10
Derry 0-6.

HALF TIME – Mickey Harte introduced
Conor Meyler at half time, with Richard Donnelly switching to midfield.Centre back Rory Brennan made way with Colm
Cavanagh already there providing the defensive cover.

36mins – Within 46 seconds of the
throw in Richard Donnelly was on the end of a move that resulted in his third
point and Tyrone were five points clear.Tyrone 0-11 Derry 0-6

47mins – A point from substitute
Christopher Bradley with his first touch reduced the gap to three points and
gave Derry a chance to get back into the game.Tyrone 0-12 Derry 0-9

49mins –
GOAL Richard
Donnelly won possession from the kick out and played a simple pass to Ronan
O’Neill.Tiernan McCann came snoring
past, took possession and ran at the Derry defence before offloading to Sean
Cavanagh for a brilliant finish. Tyrone 1-13 Derry 0-9

62mins –
GOAL CHANCE Oisin Duffy found himself in an attacking position but as Tyrone
retreated Emmett McGuckin got the ball in the penalty area but he was well
surrounded.The Magherafelt squeezed off
his shot but it went over the bar.It
was a half chance really.Tyrone 1-15 Derry 0-12

73mins –
GOAL With
the McKaigue brothers both off the pitch at this stage there was more room for
Tyrone to operate in.The game was over
as a contest but it didn’t stop Aidan McCrory cutting right through on goal and
followed in Cavanagh’s footsteps with a fantastic finish.Tyrone
2-15 Derry 0-12